On a freezing cold Sunday morning in the depths of winter Rob Sargent, CEO of the Acorn Group, stood on the sidelines of a muddy football pitch in Lewisham cheering on his youngest son. Whilst their toes slowly numbed, fellow supporters chatted between themselves, hopping up and down to keep circulation going.
Rob got talking to Jo Chandler, Chair of Governors at St. Saviour’s, a primary school in Lewisham, and their conversation turned to schooling. Jo mentioned how she had recently set up a Governor’s fundraising committee with the remit to raise much-needed funds to redevelop under-utilised spaces within the school; areas that would make a real difference to the children’s learning and school life but due to underfunding are not a possibility within their current budget. Rob listened with interest to hear how the school had met the education challenge head on and was currently one of the top performing primary schools in Lewisham. At their last Ofsted inspection, the recommendations for the next steps were focussed on developing the Year 6 reading and monitoring the reading of all children throughout the school. Jo explained how hard this was, as the school currently have no real library facility and limited space to spend time in small focus groups. When Rob asked to visit the school Jo was a little taken aback but was delighted to arrange to show him over the premises. During his visit, Rob was incredibly impressed with how every child he interacted with was polite, happy, confident and genuinely looked like they were having fun – which is surely what it’s all about!
This is where the real story begins. The next day Rob, still contemplating the battle the Head Teacher, Dean Houson, and governors face daily, had The Acorn Group deliver footballs, hula-hoops and skipping ropes to the school as a surprise for the children and staff alike. A little embarrassed, but genuinely moved by their gratitude, it spurred Rob and the Acorn team on to do more to help this resilient primary school. Acorn now intends to provide the school with a brand new library facility with additional workspace, to enable the teachers to take on the prescribed ‘next steps’. During the forthcoming summer holidays, in a real-life ‘DIY SOS’, a team will set to work converting the uninspiring room in the upper floor of the school, into a bright and vibrant space to spark the pupils passion for reading. This is something Rob and his family feel particularly passionate about as ‘Mrs. Sargent’ is an accomplished Journalist and Author. With their combined drive behind this project, they hope to significantly change how the children and staff at St Saviour's Catholic School can grow and flourish and engender a lifelong love of reading and books.
The team at The Acorn Group are working closely with the school and pupils to ensure the children have an input in the décor and design. This will truly be a bespoke haven just for them and it’s incredible how this brief chat on the sidelines has snowballed into such an exciting project. The governors, staff, and pupils at St. Saviour’s couldn’t be more excited about their new library space and are so grateful for the interest shown by Rob and the Acorn team in their school. The Acorn Group have made a conscious decision to no longer pursue summer fayre estate agency board sponsorship and other ‘one-off’ events, and choose to instead invest time and money into long term ongoing opportunities that really make a difference to their local schools, charities, and communities.
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